Design

The Design Collection of the MKG reflects more than 200 years of history in the area of design. The collection includes objects from the beginning of the 19th century. The era of industrialisation brought out a new aesthetic. It combined function, simplicity and serially manufactured mass products with new methods of distribution. The collection of the MKG illustrates the diversity of the design phenomenon and its development to the present day. It shows different emphases, such as Biedermeier, Bauhaus and Art Deco, Braun-product design, Italian Anti-Design and designs by Apple Inc. Today in the 21st century, design has since established itself as a cult technique – one even speaks of “design as existence”. Design touches on elementary questions of society – in the way of cultural, technological, social, economical and, not in the least, ecological terms. Design is a sort of touchstone, as it allows us to find out where mankind is headed. Design also is an important feature of marketing and indispensible for the way in which countless companies create and adhere to their philosophies. In the 1960s, the classical notion of the designer as the creator of products started to be questioned, as well as the distinction between design and art being increasingly blurred. The Design Collection at the MKG is future-oriented and growing consistently. While exhibiting everyday objects and the culture of manufactured merchandise, the collection displays the challenges and problems of our time, thus, it serves as a platform for critical debate.